A Year Later, Spirit Of March Continues

Stan Simpson

My wife and I tired of paying the landlord's mortgage for him, so we scraped enough cash together and bought a house.

Now, we're looking for a new church. Soon, we'll zero in on a personal computer -- for too long, we've been hitchhikers on the information superhighway.

Next month, it'll be a year since about a million black men converged on Washington in what for many was a spiritual day of self- examination.

Every now and then, someone will ask -- or I'll wonder -- what was the real effect of the Million Man March. For me, the march provided the impetus to do things I should have been doing economically and spiritually.

It's similar to the actions of a group of 20 black men in Waterbury who meet weekly at the PRIDE Youth Center to develop plans to uplift their community, particularly young people.

``The march brought more of us together who wanted to do the same thing,'' said David Love, a 37-year- old chemist and chairman of the Waterbury Million Man March Reaction Committee. ``It gave us a common focus.''

The group produced a play called ``Choices,'' which talked about the importance for young people to use using good judgment. It ran a street- cleaning project in one of Waterbury's drug-infested neighborhoods, protested the closing of a basketball court at a park and later persuaded city officials to build a new one.

Others are also taking action.

The Muhammad Mosque of Islam No. 14 in Hartford has opened a small restaurant and apartment complex on Barbour Street, providing jobs and housing for the poor.

Last year, 3,500 new volunteers registered with Connecticut's Department of Correction to assist with outreach programs for prisoners.

On Sunday in Bloomfield, a new mentoring program for young black males started accepting volunteers. Brotherman to Brotherman -- organized by Stanley Battle and Floyd Bagwell Jr., administrators at Eastern Connecticut State University, and by Bobby Griggs of Phoenix insurance -- will match black men with black youths.

``It's a follow-up to some things I experienced in Washington,'' said Bagwell, director of the learning center at ECSU. ``I tell you, it was one of the most powerful things I've experienced. I came back with a renewed sense of at least trying to do something.''

Nationwide, Million Man March organizers point to a reduction in gang violence and homicides among African-American and Latino males and an increase in registered black voters.

Janet Jackson, director of adoption for the Village for Families and Children Inc. in Hartford, said she's seen an increased interest in the adoption of black or racially mixed babies.

Memberships have increased in black organizations, such as the NAACP and Urban League, and in churches and mosques across the country.

``Some people are looking for more materialistic achievements,'' said Minister Naeem Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque of Islam No. 14. ``But the march was about the spiritual impact it made on the consciousness of black men to be better brothers, fathers and husbands.''

On Sept. 27-29 in St. Louis, the Million Man March Inc. and the National African-American Leadership Summit are conducting the National Political Convention to draft a political agenda for urban America. The idea is to develop political clout.

The convention is to be a prelude to an Oct. 16 World Day of Atonement at the U.N. Plaza in New York City. There, world leaders will be encouraged to negotiate rather than engage in war.

Three days later in Hartford, the local African American Alliance will host a daylong summit crafting a political plan of action for the black community.

Make no mistake, the spirit of the Million Man March continues to inspire.